Improvement in braiding-machines



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 J B WOOD V BRAIDING MAUHINB.

No. 41,045. Patented Dec. 22, 1863.

7/67/57; as rm- 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. B. WOOD. BRAIDING MACHINE.

No. 41,045. Patented Dec. 22, 1863.

Z J'ziy- 3.

Jay-2% W I V e I 1 a ra 6- L as: a

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. B. WOOD.

BRAIDING MACHINE.

N0. 41,045. I Patented Dec. 2-2, 1863.

4 SheetsSheet 4.

v J. B. WOOD. BRAIDING MACHINE. No. 41,045. Patented Dec. 22, 1863.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. W001), or PROVIDENCE, ASSIGNOR r0 DARIUS corn, WILLIAM F.

SAYLICS, FREDERIO O. SAYLES, AND DARIUS L. GOFF, ALL OF PAVV- TUGKE'I,RIIUDE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRAlDlNG-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No -1 1.015. dated December272, 1663.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1', JOHN ll. W001), of Providence, in the county ofProvidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented anew and usefulImprovement in Braiding-Machines; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, inwhich- Figure 1 is a vertical section of the braiding-machine in whichmy improved carrier is designed to be used. Fig. 2 is an elevation ofone of the said carriers. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of. thesame. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal view of the bobbinstop of said carrier.Fig. 5 is an upright view of the tensionweight or the same. Fig. 6 is atop view of said weight. Figs. 7 and S are elevations at light angles toeach other of a carrier, illustrating a modification of my improvement.Fig.9 is a plan of the braiding machine, shown by vertical section inFig. 1. Fig. 10 is a vertical section of the carrier used in the Englishbraiding-machine. said carrier and its carrier-wheels and shaft asarranged in said English machine. Fig. 12 is a plan of the same andadjoining part of the machine.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures. r I

My improvement is expressly designed for the braiding of flat braid ot'the maximum widths and number of strands. It is an improvement on theEnglish machine for braidi ng this description of braid, and iscalculated to adapt the method employed in the English machine withtwoserpentine race-plates to the ordinary single-plate braiding-machinewith a view to produce a machine of simpler construction and a moreconvenient operation than the said English machine" for the manufactureof wide tlat braid. Heretofore the wider flat braids have beenexclusively made in foreign countries,and withthe greatest perfectionupon the said English machine, the distinctive features of which arethat the braid is formed at a distance from the center of the serpentinepathway traversed by the carriers, and that the said pathway does notFig. 11 is an elevation ofcontinuc entirely around the circle, butterminates in a full curve at. two points in the circle nearest to thepoint at which the braid is formed, the selvage edges of the (flat)braid being; formed by the passage of the carriers around these twoterminal curves, and the interior portion of the, braid by the passageof the carriers in their sepentine course departing and returning;between these two points. In this method of braiding, at a certain pointaside from the center of this serpentine course, the (flat) braid willbe formed of uniform closeness and evenness of texture from side toside, and any departure therefrom in either direction with respect tothe center will have the effectto braid more closely at the edges thanin the middlnnt. Hm li it], or i versa, accordingly as thebraiding-point is moved toward or from the center, thereby producingimperfectand inferior braiding. In the ordinary method employed in thesaid singleplate machine, the braid is formed at the centerof theserpentinepathway traversed by the carriers, and only a snfticienttraverse of the tension-weights is required to enable the carriers tomove in their serpentine course with an equal tension ot'eachstrand.- Inthe Eng lish method, however, there is 1'C(1llil0(l,'b6- sides thattraverse which provides for the said serpentine movement, an additionaltraverse of the tension-weight equal to double the distance at which thebraiding-point is removed from the center to enable the carriers to movefreely, and with an equal tension at the farthest as well as at thenearest point in the serpentine pathway to that at which the braid isformed; and as the braiding-point is the farthest removed from thecenter in braiding the widest bra-id with the greatest number ofstrands, the construction and arrangement of the carriers must be suchas is calculated to afford snfiicient traverse to the tension-weights,both for the serpentine movement of the carrier and' for the approachingand receding movement of the same to and from the braidingpoint at adistance from the center which, amounts ,to a traverse of about sixinches in a braid of fifty. three strands thrcefourths of an inch wide.In order to obtain this amount of traverse,

the carrier in' the English machine is con structed, as shown in Figs.10, 11, and 12 of the accompanying drawings, consisting of a tube, 1),the upper portion of which serves as a spindlefor the bobbin .10 and theren'iaining portion. inelosing the tension-weight 1 which the eyes it ain the upright rod ll, thence through an eye in't'hc swinging end of thelatch e, which regulates the unwinding of the yarn from the bobbin,thence downward and through the eye 0 in the weight F and up wardthrough the delivering-guide at the top.-

of the tube, and thence to the braidingpoint.

To accommodate the traverseot' the tension weight Fbelow the base of thecarrier, the tube D extends so far downward in that d'ircction as torequire a second set'ot' carrierwheels J", and a second serpentineraceplate, A which nearly doubles the size and cost of the machine, andis otherwise objectionable. The arrangeinentof the said yarnguides, asdescribed. is also objectionable,tor the reason that it is necessary tolift the carrier completely out of the machine and turn it bottom upwardin order to runthe strand of yarn through the yarn-guides-in the la'wh oand weight F, when it breaks or runs out, which requires considerabletime and-is most inconvenient.

The object of my invention is, therefore, to overcome these objectionsand by meansofan improvedcarrier to braid the wider kinds of flat braidupon the single-plate machine by the method heretofore employed only inthe ,double-plate English machine, which has never before been done tomy knowledge.

"Vith this object in view, my invention consists in constructing'thecarrier and arrang in g its yarn-guides insuch a manner that thetension-weight may have a sutficient traverse above the base of thecarrier,"or of asingle plate, from which such carrier derives "itsserpentine movement to permit thcbraid'to be formed at any requireddistance from the center of the machine; and my invention furtherconsists in combining with the single platebraidingmachine a suitableformer, adapted to braidingwithout or at a distance from the center ofsuch machine, substantially as hereinafter indicated and described.

In order that the nature and extent of my improvement maybe'fullyunderstood, and-to enable others skilled in the art to make and use thesame,'I will proceed to describe the same witlrret'erence to the annexeddrawings.

A, Figs. 1 and 9, is the race-plate, forming part of the frame of-'thesingle-plate machine. J are the carrier-wheels, adapted to suchrace-plate and forming therewith the cireular supentine course traversedby the carriers inthe operation of braiding, as shown in Fig. 9, themotion of said wheels being united by equal gears L on each, and bothturning upon suitable studs projecting from the bedplate A of the frame.(3 is the former employed in the English machine, having its crot-chedend 1, which is the braiding-point, arranged at some distance from thecenter T of the circular plate A, and 2 2 are the terminal curves,around which the carriers pass in forming the selvage edges 5- ot' thetiatln'aid, l. lbeing two pointed rods, over which the yarn is laid toform the said edges. This construction and arrangement of parts beinginall respects according to the methodemployed in the English machineabove referred to;

and it will be seen, by reference tolfiigf-t), that a-certain traverseot' the tension-weight is re-.

quired to allow the *arriers l) to run from-the inside to the outsidecircumference of their serpentine courscwithout varying the tension ofthe several strands, and that in addition to this a traverse which willtake'up the yarn as the carriers approach the braidingpoint 1, and letit out again as they recede therefrom, and run at the farthestpoint inthe circle from the former 1, as shown at W. In order to obtainthisamount-of travel e in a single-plate machine, I make use ofthc carriersillustrated in Figs. 1 to ti, inclusive, the same consisting of acastiron base, 15, ot'

the form commonly adopted for the carriers of the single plate machine,from which ascends alight upright tubular spindle, 1),on which thebobbin E is titted to turn freely, the said spindle being securedtirmlyinthe casting and being of a length otab'out twice the height of thebobbin. which rests on the shoulder a. ot'the cast-iron base '13. In theupper part of the spindle I) there is alining-ting, b 7), which isrounded in siich form as to allow the yarn to pass frcelyover it. Theweight F is of cylindrical form and placed within the spindle, in: whichit nis capable of working up and down freely,.'the'-said weight beingfurnished ,with an eye,"O,'at the top to receive the yarn.

The spindle D also containswithin it alight rod, G, whiehcarri'es'tlielatch 0. This rod is composed of apiece of wire','which is straightexcept at itslends, which are bent in the form of rings and set'at rightangles to it, as Shown at g g in Figs. 3 and 4, to fit easily within thecylindrical interior of the spindle to -keep the rod in place, and agroove, f, is provided in one side of the weight F for the said rod toslide freely through, the weight being ar ranged between the two rings 9g. The latch e is attached rigidly to the said rod G,and protrudesthrough an upright slot, h, in thetubulat-spindle, for the purpose ofentering the notches in the top of the bobbin. Outside of the spindle D,on the same. side witlrthe'slot 71, a yarn-guide, 'i, is secured to thebase of the carrier, the bend or eye of the said guide being about halfthe height of the bobbin. The yarn passes from the bobbin through theguide 1', thence upward over the edge of the tubular spindle D at I),through the eyes of the weight- F, back over the opposite edge of thespindle at b, and thence to the former.' As the carrier approaches theformer,the weight F descends and draws down the yarn into the spindle,and as it recedes from the former theyarn is drawn up from the spindle,drawing upthe werght F. The quantity of yarn which is held in reservebetween the bobbin and the head of the spindle to be-let out and takenback again is equal to twice the distance which *the weight is allowedto move 'up and down the spindle, and thus. owing to the upwardextension of the spindle, is about three times as much as can be letoutand taken back again with a carrier of the construction commonly usedin the single-plate braiding-nuichine, wherein the traverse allowed tothe tensionweight is only so much as is required for the serpentinemovement of thecarrier. When the tension-weight F is drawn up. into contact with the upper ring, g, of the latch-bar G, it lifts the said bar,and so lifts the latch 0 out of the notches in the head of the bobbin,and allows the bobbin to be turned to give out the yarn. With thisconstruction of carrier, when the yarn break or runs out, it is onlynecessary to draw the yarn from the bobbin, hook it into theguitle-eye-i,-ai1d by means of a rod or wire, with a look at the end,the weight F is drawn up to the top of the tubular spindle D, when theend of the yarn may be readily run through the eye 0, and the operationof the machine resumed in much; less time than is required in theEnglish machine. In the modification of my invention 'represented inFigs.'Tand 8 the bobbin E is arranged upon ashort spindle, j, as in theear,- riers commonly used in the single-plate machine, and the weight Fis arranged to work on a guidebar, H, outside of the bobbin; but thesaid guide is extended upward from the base B of the carrier to abouttwice the height of the bobbin, and the arrangement of the latch ,I issuch that the weight F has a traverse on the said guide from itsposition as shown (at the base B)near1y to the top of the guide-bar,(until it comes in contact with and lifts the end q of the said latchl,) a distance of six inches, with'a let-ofi' of twelve inches in lengthof yarn. While in the usual construction of the carrier, which providesmerely-for the serpentine movement before referred to, as set forth inthe patentof A. B. Clemons. of November 16, 1858, the yarn passesthrough an eye in the guide midway between the two ends of the bobbin,and down outside of the guide under. the lower end of the weight, whichgives a traverse of but two and onehalf inches (2%) ot' the weight and alet-oft. of but five. (5) inches of yarn, which, though-amply sutficientfor the ser entine movement of the carrier forming braid at the centrrof the machine. is less than half the traverse required for theapproaching and receding movementincident to the formation of wide sametraverse of the weight.

flat braid at a distance from the center-for which my improvedconstruction'of the car rier and arrangement of the yarmguides is exneck7:, down under the heck of the-button 'nr 7 on the weight, and up againto and through the eye Z, whence it passes to the braiding, former 1.This arrangement of the yarnguides does not difl'er in any practicalsense from that first described, and shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for it willbe seen that the guides 7?, Figs. 2 and 3, and n, Figs. 7 and 8, areboth situated midway between the two ends of the bobbin; thatthe roundedring I) b in Figs. 2 and 3 and the neck- It; and eye I in Figs. 7 and 8are bot-h situated at the extreme top of the carrier,"and that the eye.0 in Figs. 2 and 3 and the bottom m, in Figs. 7 and 8 are both situatedupon andfortn part of the weight F; and, furthermore, the end (1 ot thelatch 1, Figs. 7 and 8, is situated above the latch-m, which immediatelyengages with the stops or pegs p p in the-top of the bobbin to permitthe weight; to traverse to that height q precisely as is the ring g,situated above the latch '0, Figs. 2 and 3, which immediately engageswith the notches in the top' of the bobbin and with the same object inview to give additional traverse to the weight to provide" for themethod hereby adapted to the single-1 plate machine of braiding at adistance from the. center. On the same principle of arranging the saidyarn guides, the yarn may pass twice between the neck k and button m ofFigs. 7 and 6, or twice between the ring I) b and eye 0 in the weight ofFigs. 2 and 3, and thereby double the let-ofl' of yarn from the Theweight alone has been hereinajbove mentioned as a means for producingthe requisite tension of the yarn in its delivery from the carrier,because it is, all things being considered, the best means for thepurpose where an excessive motion or traverse is necessary, the nearestapproach to an equivalent therefor being acoiled spring applied to windat band upon a scroll-pulley, by means of which a tension is produced"that is nearly equal throughout a traverse of six inches of an eye inthe:

end of such band through which the yarn is passed; but from the factthatit is practically impossibleto makea number of coiled springs of thesame stiffness and winding-power, or to maintain the same at the samestifi'ness' and power for any length of time, it is obvious that for thecorresponding evenness of tension required in all of a large number ofstrands in braidm g a flat braid with a traverse of five or six inchesof the weight and alet ofl' of ten or arrangement of a spring is bothunsuitable and impracticable, and that the corresponding evennessoftension required inall the carriers can only'be attained by the use of anumber of weight ofequal heaviness applied one to each braiding-strand.g

I am aware that an arrangement of a springpulley, a lifter band, andringto play within a hollow spindle has been heretofore patented byEdward B. Day, February 7, 1860; but as said spring-pulley is not ascroll-pulley the power of itsspring would be so' multiplied with asufficient traverse to braid at a dis tance from the center, and thevariation in the power of the dilfe'rent springs would produce such avariety of tension in the several strands as to pucker the braid, andrender it entirely .W rthless that it is onlycalculated for the smallamount of traverse required for'tlie serpentine movement of thecarriers, and is unsuitable andimpracticable for braiding wide fiatbraid at a distance from the center of the machine.

It will be -seen that the bases B B of the carriers are based upon andoperate 'within the single serpentine plate A, and

that the carriers and their auxiliary parts are all arranged and operateabove their said bases with that degree of traverse which adaptsthesingle-plate machine to 'the braiding ofwide flat braid, which has onlyheretofore been accomplished by means of a similar traverse below thebase of the-carrier and the two serpentine plates and twosets ofcarrier-' wheels of them'ore complicated and expensive English machineabovereferred to.

reference to the particular branch of manufacture for which it. isdesigned, I wish it understood that-I do not claim any arrangement 'of atension'weight with the carrierof a braidlng-machiuewhiclisimplyprovides for-the serpentine movement of the carrier-braiding atthecenter'ot" the machine, asset forth in A. B. Glemonspatent ofNovember 16,1858. Neither do I claim the arrangement of a spring-pulley,lifter band, and-ring" as a substn tute for the tension-weight toprovide for the serpentine movement of 'the carrier, as set forth inEdwd. B. Days patent of February 7 ,1860,

as neither of the said devices are capable of affording the degree oftraverse with the requisite evenness of tension in any number ofstrands, which is the object of my present improvement. 'Nor (10,1 claimthat construction of the carrier and arrangement of its yarn guideswhich provides for a sufficient degree of-traver'se below the baseofthecarrier as employed in the English doubleplate machine, as sucharrangement is wholly unsuitable for use in the single-platebraidingmachine, for which my improvement -is expressl y designed.

What-I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-- 1. Socontructingthe carrier and arranging its yarn-guides -that thetensionweight may have a sulficient traverse above the base'of thecarrier or racer to allow wide flat braid to. be formed at any requireddistance from the center in the single-plate-braiding-machine,

substantially as herein specified. 2. Combining with'a single-platebraidingmachine; substantially as described, the ,t'ormer C. or itsequivalent, adapted to braidinga't a distaneefrom the center,substantially as described, for the purpose specified. Having thusdescribed my intention with JOHN B. WOOD.

